Nastassja Baset as Desdemona and Dwayne A. Thomas as Iago, with Malcolm X mural, Othello, Theatre in the X. Photo by Tieshka Smith.

Ira Aldridge, famous African-American actor (1807-1867) and member of the African Grove Theatre—the first resident African American theater in the US—may be the patron saint of this all-black OTHELLO production in Philadelphia. Confronted with persistent discrimination, which black actors endured in the US, he emigrated to England (aged 26) where he played Othello, Richard III, and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. Aldridge made quite a career on London and many European stages, and frequently played in front of royalty. He became so famous that he received top honors from heads of state—while the U.S. was still in the grip of slavery till 1861. Early in his career, he did what nobody had done before: On the closing night of his engagement wherever he performed, he addressed the audience with great passion, and spoke of the injustice of slavery and his desire for “freedom of those still held in bondage.” Aldridge never returned to the United States.

“Shakespeare‘s OTHELLOhas been a battleground for race relations and identities, which continue to be fought and negotiated today,” as Andrew Ian Carlson points out in his dissertation (2011). He argues that “OTHELLO becomes the property of white Americans in the nineteenth century, conferring them financial and cultural benefits. In the 20th century, black Americans claim Othello as their property, thus challenging exclusive white ownership of the legitimate American theater.”

OTHELLO and the Black Mafia

Henrik Eger: How did you come up with the idea of casting a black Othello, instead of having a white Othello in an all-black environment?

Ozzie Jones: The idea came from Carlo Campbell. I wanted the audience in the Malcolm X Park neighborhood to relate to this play. I see Othello as an honest man and lonely warrior who looks different from the rest of the Venetians. He is unlike the others because of his rank as a general. He is also vulnerable because he is not part of the gangs that are roaming the streets. Therefore, he becomes an easy target for those around him.

I wanted to make OTHELLO become part of the area around 52nd and Market where, in the late 1950s, the Black Mafia, a dangerous crime organization, was born. In those days, there were not many Muslims in Philadelphia, so our Othello stands out along with Desdemona, who converted to Islam.

History has shown that jealousy and envy often lead to bloodshed, as it happens in the criminal underworld all the time. I was convinced that the audience in the Malcolm X Park neighborhood would relate to these problems.

“We did not have to discuss how white people feel about black folks.”

Eger: You said that the ideas in the play change without race as the issue.

Jones: Well, the change is actually quite simple. When you take the backdrop of racism and white supremacy out of the casting, OTHELLO becomes a play about jealousy. The realities of how human beings deal with jealousy, rage, love, etc. are what we must discuss and investigate. It was actually quite liberating. Through rehearsal, we did not have to discuss how white people feel about black folks. Gloriously liberating.

Jones: Shakespeare’s language—presenting Othello’s race and color in a disparaging, hateful way—reflects what the characters in the play think about Othello’s integrity and intellect. Our production of this tragedy showed the sadness, pain, and death that can come from human frailty, envy, passion, and violence—without the tiresome, destructive stupidity of white supremacy. I found it quite moving that our all-black OTHELLO didn’t fall apart as a play. I actually think it took wings and flew.

Othello: Muslim general with paranoia, massaged by Iago

Eger: You present Othello as a Muslim living in a violent non-Muslim environment.

Jones: I didn’t want to make Othello different because of race, so I envisioned him as a Muslim in a non-Muslim environment. In the black community in the 1950s, most folks were Christian, and many of them were scared of Malcolm X. But now, over half a century later, many black Muslims live in that area.

Considering what’s going on in the US, making Othello a Muslim man would make it reasonable that he would feel the level of paranoia that he felt, sitting in the back of his mind, fearful that everyone is against him. And Iago is massaging that insecurity, that fear.

OTHELLO, set in the world of a crime syndicate

Eger: In the 1939 film, Paradise in Harlem, Othello’s dialogue is “delivered in the a cappella gospel style.” What did you do to bring OTHELLO to an all-black neighborhood in Malcolm X Park?

Jones: We set Othello loosely in the world of a crime syndicate in contemporary America—mainly, because in such a world, violence is an expected reality for how men rise and fall from power. Also, the underworld has the patriarchal, macho dealings with women, with the mental and physical violence, ending in murder—all realities which the play needs for its awful, tragic end.

Casting an all-black OTHELLO

Eger: Tell us about your actors, especially those playing Othello, Desdemona, Iago, Emilia, and Cassio.

Jones: The actors are bloody fabulous. This is my first time directing Dwayne A. Thomas who is playing Iago. He gives a truly wonderful performance. I cast Carlo Campbell as Othello, because he was born to play that role, and Nastassja Baset as Desdemona, Walter DeShields as Cassio, and LaNeshe Miller-White as Emilia—all actors who are unique and have passion to do Shakespeare.

Good actors not getting hired on Philadelphia main stages

Eger: From your OTHELLO cast, Carlo Campbell is one of the few actors who gets hired quite often by a number of different companies, but I don’t think I have seen everyone else appear on Philadelphia stages regularly.

Jones: True. Not only are these actors interesting to watch, they have a really high technical ability as well. The number of gifted, well-trained black actors who never get to perform on downtown theater stages is disgraceful. I want lots of people to come and see this production, so they can witness how incredibly good these actors are.

Hopefully, the public can start demanding to see them on stages everywhere.